TEN-man Bahrain held leaders Venezuela to a goalless draw in a Group ‘A’ match of the Cotif International Under-20 Friendly Football Tournament in Valencia, Spain, late on Thursday night.
This was Bahrain’s first point in the group after losing to hosts Spain 3-0 in their opening game.
Venezuela stay on top of the group with seven points after defeating the US 1-0 and Mauritania 2-0, and a draw with Bahrain.
The Bahrain under-19 team is taking part in the this tournament as part of their preparations for the Asian Under-19 Football Championship to be held in Bahrain from October 13 to 30.
Bahrain was reduced to 10 men after defender Faisal Shawqi was sent off in the 69th minute.
National coach Abdulaziz Abdo started the match with Yousif Habeeb (goalkeeper), Hussain Jameel, Ahmed Mubarak, Hamad Shamsan, Faisal Shawqi (defenders), Ahmed Sanad, Mohammed Al Hardan, Mohammed Marhoon, Jassim Redha, Abdulaziz Khalid (midfielders) and Sayed Ibrahim Alawi (forward).
Bahrain play their third match tonight at 8pm (Bahrain time) against Mauritania who have already lost their three games - against Venezuela 3-0, Spain 3-1 and the US 1-0.
Spain have six points from two matches, the US are third with three points from two matches and Bahrain fourth with one point from two matches. Mauritania are yet to score a point.
Eight teams are taking part in this friendly tournament and are divided into two groups with Bahrain placed in Group ‘A’ along with hosts Spain, US and Venezuela while Group ‘B’ consists of Argentina, Qatar, Costa Rica and Morocco.
Delegation
The Bahrain delegation is headed by Bahrain Football Association (BFA) board member Ali Al Basha.
Bahrain squad:
Goalkeepers: Abdulaziz Al Kandari, Yousif Habeeb, Ammar Mohammed.
Defenders: Ahmed Mubarak, Hussain Jameel, Hamad Shamsan, Faisal Shawqi, Hassan Al Karani, Abdulaziz Aref, Sayed Ahmed Hashim, Salim Adel, Sayed Mohammed Ameen.
Midfielders: Zeyad Ali, Mohammed Jassim, Mohammed Al Hardan, Abdulaziz Khalid, Ali Hassan, Jassim Redha, Ahmed Sanad, Faisal Ibrahim, Mohammed Ali, Emad Abdulla, Ahmed Hassan.
Forwards: Talal Al Na’ar, Sayed Ibrahim Alawi and Sayed Hashim Isa.